


Errare Humanum Est

by nazgularepeopletoo



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Panic Attacks, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 09:38:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11483685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazgularepeopletoo/pseuds/nazgularepeopletoo
Summary: Seneca Crane isn't quite sure what will be waiting on the other side of the doors that the Peacekeepers have just lead him to. It isn't what he was expecting.





	Errare Humanum Est

Nightlock Berries.

Those were Nightlock Berries.

The bowl sat in the center of the room, unassuming, embellishing the extravagant décor. Everything was sleek, gold and silver. Everything except the berries.

It took Seneca a moment to understand what was going on. The doors were locked. There was a bowl of berries in the center of the room.

Nightlock Berries.

His eyes widened minutely. Then more.

There was only one set of doors.

It wouldn’t do to pound on them, making a fuss, or a scene. The Peacekeepers on the other side would ignore him anyway and all it would do would make him look weak. Like a coward.

He was a coward though. He could feel it, the panic, rising in his chest. Stumbling backwards, his breath hitched, then seemed to stick in his throat. He couldn’t breathe. A hand flew to his collar, undoing it with trembling fingers, trying in vain to calm himself down.

He tripped on his heel, falling back and barely missing the door with his head. His nails scrapped at the tile floor, desperate for traction, anything that would get him further away from those berries.

Nightlock Berries.

The same berries that had nearly killed both of the surviving tributes. The berries that outsmarted him. The berries that spelled his downfall. He fancied he could smell them, and he backed up against the door, sliding down the wall to reach the corner.  It took a moment, but suddenly he felt something wet on his face. He was crying.

The realization triggered full blown, heaving sobs, and he pressed closer against the wall, pulling his knees up against his chest and hugging them tightly.

He didn’t want to die. Not now. Not like this.

President Snow said he had liked him. What had he been expected to do? Let them both die? Not have a victor? They had the berries _in their mouths_. He’d had mere seconds to make a decision. And it seemed that he had made the wrong one.

 

He sat there for hours, huddled in the corner, face pressed to his knees. Every part of him hurt. His eyes were red, his throat dry, and his stomach ached from hunger. He’d stopped crying only because he’d run out of tears. When he lifted his head, the sun was low in the cut glass windows, but nothing else had moved. They were still there. Sitting innocently.

Nightlock Berries.

After another moment, he pushed himself up on shaky legs, pausing in the corner before moving slowly over to the bowl. He stood there, staring at them. His stomach growled quietly, reminding him he would need to make another life or death decision. If he took long enough there was a high probability that he would get shot or executed some other way. Probably a lot more painful than eating a few berries.

His hand was surprisingly steady as he reached out and plucked a small handful of berries out of the bowl. He held them in his hand, noting the deep purple color and the rough texture of the skin. Closing his eyes, he lifted them to his mouth, chewing once before swallowing. They were bitter. He barely had enough time to think an apology to his wife and parents before his whole body seized, he choked, and then fell to the ground, muscles spasming.

He was dead in less than a minute.

**Author's Note:**

> I would die for Seneca Crane tbh.


End file.
